Desirae Steier's introduction to competitive motocross three years ago was brief. And painful.

"I broke my wrist," she explained. "On the second lap, I think."

The 14-year-old Oconto girl, though, didn't let what happened at her very first race slow her down.

Desirae returned to the track four weeks later, finishing eighth out of 12 or 13 riders.

Her toughness in dozens of events since have led her to them biggest race of her career — the 33rd Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships – this week.

Desirae, 14, will be competing against 30 girls from across the country, and Chile and Canada, in the girls senior 12-16 division.

The event comprises three races over four days on a track at Loretta Lynn's Ranch west of Nashville. Her total time over three days — Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday — will decide her place.

"The most important day is the third moto," she said.

Desirae Steier, 14, is seen in a motocross race at Pine Ridge Raceway, Athelstane, earlier this year.
(Photo:
Photo by Scott Fiferek
)

The championships will be streamed live on RacerTV.com.

She qualified for the nationals in two divisions on June 22 at Walnut, Ill.

Desirae runs a 112cc, 2 stroke engine, the maximum size for her division. Though the cycle can go faster, she can hit more than 50 mph in the straightaways.

Of course, there's a lot more to motocross than going fast. Desirae can be fly up 20 feet into the air, which takes plenty of skill to land successfully.

"There's so many bumps and humps and corners, it's more agility than it is speed," said Desirae's father, Joe Steier.

Desirae has built up that agility and endurance by practicing up to three hours a day, as well as competing in as many divisions — including against boys — as she can when the family travels for weekend races. Those events also build experience, said her mother, Margaret Steier.

"It's just a lot of fun, I guess," said Desirae, who will be a freshman at Oconto High School this fall. In middle school, she ran cross country and played basketball and softball.

Her 10-year-old brother, Preston, also started racing a few years ago.

The family has talked about the risks of the sport.

"When we ask the kids if they want to continue, they say 'absolutely,'" Joe said.

Besides being dangerous, motocross is expensive.

Desirae's new helmet was $550. Her current bike cost $7,500, and this is her third one. The bikes and equipment are hauled in a trailer behind a motor home, where the family stays on the weekends as race venues. They also bring a golf cart, because the track is sometimes a long way from the campground.

Joe joked that he "may need a third job to pay for it all," though was Dad who gave Desirae her first dirt bike, a gift for her 10th birthday. He even built a track next to the house so she could practice.

Even after the inauspicious first race, "we just decided after I healed that we'd go to another race, and we just kept racing," Desirae said.

But despite the time and money and danger, the family decided it was worthwhile.

An unexpected benefit is all of the people Desirae and her parents have met at the races. The motocross community is like a big family, she said. If one of the kids isn't back right away, they're not hard to find.

"You just go camper to camper to see where they are eating marshmallows and telling stories," Margaret said.

Joe even rekindled his motocross racing. He had quit racing years ago, Margaret said, but seeing Desirae on the track has prompted him to race occasionally on tracks he likes.